Are you the Senior, who raised your family and went to the 9-5 every day? Do you now look in the mirror only to wonder where that free spirited young man or daring young woman has gone? Did they toss out the dreams of who they wanted to be, or only temporarily set them aside? It’s your turn now. Will you make the time to become an artist, mentor, world traveler, or perhaps a gardener? You can be that person, or you can make excuses.

Do You Feel Your Life Is Successful?

Are you pleased with the way your life has turned out so far? If your life is on track and your visions fully in place then you can view your life as a success. Unfortunately most people still have burning desires inside of them. If this is you isn’t it time you did something about them?

If you truly want to view your life as successful then you need to learn how to be true to yourself. This means throwing a little caution to the wind and following your hearts dreams and desires.

Your dreams needn’t be huge and involve moving to a different country. Your dreams may be much smaller. Such as wanting to sit down and write a novel, or learn how to paint or take quality photographs.

No matter what your dreams are you owe it yourself to take some type of action to achieve them. Do you have a bucket list? If so, how many items have you checked off?

Start today and make a plan so that you can achieve at least one of your dreams this year. Or at the very least be on target for reaching it. Write out the steps you would need to take to achieve your goal. Break them down into smaller steps, ones that can be completed quickly and easily. Then work on completing each small goal. Remember that each step brings you that much closer to fulfilling your dream.

A small step might include signing up for art lessons. It might mean researching what equipment you need to make your photography dream come true. Or it could include saving up money so that you can afford your dream.

Each action you take you will give your life more purpose. You have allowed yourself the freedom of chasing a dream. Don’t worry about what others say, you are not foolish nor wasting your money.

Instead you are leading a life that will have you feeling successful. You are essentially becoming your own person who makes their own choices and decisions. What could be better?

“What’s meant to be will always find a way.” -Trisha Yearwood

Is Society Shaping You?

Who doesn’t lead a busy life these days? Nearly everyone does and there is one impact of this that you may not be aware. That you allow society, as a whole, to shape you as a person?

Society today is full of people who like to stereotype, label and categorize not just items but other people. If you do not fit into one of these labels then you may be viewed as an outcast.

The result of this typecasting is, you forget to be true to yourself and instead conform to a mold. This doesn’t allow you to be yourself. Is that really how you want to live, or are you ready to shake off that mold allowing the true you to emerge?

Getting out of the mold is not always easy. The moment you break the stereotyping your friends look at you in a different way. They may wonder why you are attracting attention to yourself, instead of staying quiet.

Allowing yourself freedom to try new things is a great way to become your own person. There is no harm in trying something new. If anything you learn important lessons and gain new experiences. You discover what your limitations are and you find strengths you never knew you had.

Life is really too short to allow others to dictate your every move. You need to have the courage to be your own person. Learn how to express yourself, to have faith in yourself, and above all, learn to trust your own decisions.

Remember, you are giving yourself the freedom to choose your own life. Once you make that move and stop allowing society to shape you, you will feel in tune with your life.

Life is full of choices, you will make both positive and negative choices, but at least you will be living your own life. Not one that others think you should live.

Accept Yourself

Are you happy in your own skin? Feeling comfortable and accepting yourself is important if you want to lead a fulfilling and happy life. Let’s take a look at how you can achieve these feelings.

Your first step is to ask yourself a couple of questions:

1. Who is the person you want to become? Describe this person in detail.

2. What things do you really care about?

3. Is there anything or anyone you may lose if you start to live the life you truly want?

Write your answers out in detail. This way you have a complete description of the person you want to become and why.

During this journey you need to understand and accept that nobody is perfect. Every person has faults, and you must learn to live with them. You are now ready to begin living your life the way you want and deserve to.

You must learn to love yourself. You may have parts of you that you are extremely happy with, and those that you hate. You must stop hating and work on improving the way you view these things. If you have habits that can be changed then change them. If you just have quirks, then these are part of your personality. They identify what is unique about you, as a person. You need to accept and love your quirks!

Every day you want to focus on how you can do things that showcase the person you really are. If you want to speak out about something, then do so. Don’t stay silent just because your friends or family won’t approve. Always try to stay true to yourself as much as possible.

Before going to bed each night ask yourself if you were the best person that you could possibly be. Did you make the right choices or did you let fear keep you hiding in the shadows?

This entire journey of accepting yourself takes time, and yes, it’s not always easy or comfortable. Just remember that you are doing this for yourself. By becoming the person you really want to be, you will be happier and this will spread to every other area of your life.

Tips for Being the Best You Possible

Use these tips to stay true to yourself and to give yourself permission to follow your heart’s desires.

| Tip One:

Give yourself permission to have dreams and goals in your life, regardless of what your family and friends say or think. If you want to learn how to climb a mountain, go skydiving one day, or spend hours painting just go for it.

| Tip Two:

Remember that you own your life and that you have only one life. Life is too short to keep putting things off until next week or next year. Start making plans that will help you fulfill your dreams.

| Tip Three:

Write out your dreams and desires on paper. This will help them feel more real to you. Then go through your list and place them in order. Have the one you want to do first on top.

| Tip Four:

Start planning how you will achieve your dream. Do you need to learn a new skill? Take certain lessons? Or you may have to save up the cash for it.

| Tip Five:

Create a plan of action of things that you can do immediately that will help you reach your dream. It often helps to break down larger goals into much smaller ones. This way they become more manageable and easier to attain.

Stay realistic with your dream. Ensure that your end goal is something that you can actually achieve. There is no point in dreaming of climbing a mountain if you are terrified of heights!

| Tip Eight:

Be authentic to those who try to stop you in your tracks. Listen to their objections and then counter them with your action plan. If you map out your steps to reach your goal and can clearly show this to others, objections will become fewer as time goes on.

| Tip Nine:

While reaching your dreams will help fulfill your life, you don’t want to lose your friends, and family over it. Take time to discuss your plans with anyone who is concerned. After all they do have your best interests at heart.

| Tip Ten:

Ensure your goal is something you really want. Don’t do anything out of spite just to prove a point to someone. Open up your heart and your feelings and let those tugs pull you in the right direction.

I would be grateful if you share this with someone whom you feel would benefit.